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Samoan Civil War
The Samoan Civil War is an ongoing conflict in the Kingdom of Samoa, which is itself united to the Kingdom of Hawaii in a political confederation, pitching the forces of Laupepa against those of Mata’afa. The write-up as provided by Admin was as follows: January 7, 1890 Wracked by a lengthy civil war that was ended literally by an act of God in 1889, when a massive hurricane ravaged the island and sank several German, and British ships anchored there, Samoa has since recovered somewhat and the German commercial interests have remained active. Palm oil, cocoa and copra are the primary exports. German traders and merchants have been active on the islands since 1855. The Samoan islands are the last of the “large islands” left uncolonized in the Pacific, except for Hawaii, and the value of coaling stations (especially one with such an excellent natural harbor like Pago Pago) has become widely recognized. The Germans believed, falsely as it has turned out, that their considerable commercial activity on the islands would create something of a “de facto” German protectorate, which other Powers would tacitly recognize. The British, however, have established a consulate on Samoa and extracted some minor concessions during one of the short-lived periods of peace and consolidated government, granting limited harbor rights and some trade agreements to the British representatives (if only to get the British to leave them alone). Now carnage has returned to Samoa, as rival factions resume hostilities after European influence has literally blown away in a hurricane. The struggle for control of the tiny Polynesian kingdom of several fairly large islands is split mostly between three key figures: Mata'afa Iosefo, who is favored by the British and has declared himself King; Susuga Laupepa, who was formerly the internationally-recognized King; and Tupua Tamasese Titimaea, the new German favorite who was recognized as King by Berlin in 1888 but has met with defeat on the battlefield. '' ''The remote islands of the Pacific have assumed profound importance in the last 20 years as global steamship traffic has exponentially increased. With the rise in global commerce, the necessity of coaling stations strategically placed in a chain across the Pacific’s vast breadth has triggered a furious race for the last few “unclaimed” Pacific territories. And with global commerce comes the necessity for Powers to guard their trade routes; coaling stations are required for the merchant steamers as well as the cruisers that shepherd the long steamship routes between the Hemispheres. Samoa does not have a European flag over it largely because the Powers have been engaged in a fruitless tug of war over the kingdom. Beneath the flying dust, Samoa has preserved its nominal independence while the various factions fight it out. Laupepa was exiled, then returned, but Mata’afa currently has seized the upper hand with an army of 6,000 well-armed warriors who occupy the majority of the territory. There was talk, in mid-1889, of Germany and Britain resolving the situation once and for all at a conference in Berlin, but this never materialized. The conflict now rages between Laupepa and Mata’afa, leaving this strategically important island kingdom located astride numerous steamship lanes in smoldering ruin. timeline: there was no American involvement, and therefore only British and German ships were destroyed in the 1889 Apia hurricane. There has been no settlement'Category:Europe 1890 (2014)''